Taking pictures of cars you see in traffic and parked on the street can be hard. You don’t want to draw attention, lest some passerby or car owner think you are up to no good. As a result, sometimes you end up with an imperfect photo, perhaps a touch blurry or maybe not from the best angle. But what happens when the car you are photographing is in your driveway, it belongs to you, and you are trying to find somebody to buy it? Don’t you want to sell it?! I present to you the worst Craigslist listing photo I’ve ever seen. Have you seen a worse one?

At least you can tell what this one is… although the seller calls it a Cavalier!

We’ve all seen an atrocious Craigslist photo of a car. You would think sellers would take the time to park the car somewhere open and well-lit and get some good photos of the interior and exterior. After all, they’re trying to find somebody who will fork over the money to buy their car. If you miss crucial angles or cut vast swathes of the car out of your photos, does that not suggest to prospective buyers that you have something to hide?

Some sellers appear not to have ill will but, rather, a certain technological ineptitude. They leave the phone in portrait mode, for example. Or the flash goes off in their garage. Maybe it’s dusk and the photo becomes too grainy. But the photo at the top is truly the most bafflingly bad listing photo I’ve seen, to the point where it’s hard to tell what the car even is.

I found it while looking for an interior shot of a car I’m featuring tomorrow, which a friend of mine actually took good photos of. So, answer me these questions: what is the mystery car, and what was the worst listing photo you’ve seen?

Much like this photo…. I wish I had “screen shot” the ad for a 1976 BMW 2002. ONE photo (as I recall) of the car with car cover pulled back partially. Car hadn’t even been washed…had been sitting for years; covered with DUST (even with cover) & they wanted $42 THOUSAND dollars???

My pet peeves, besides stupid worthless photos..Misspelling the name of your car, (there is no “E”in Camaro. or the idiot in my local Craigslist who advertised a 1998 SATRAN) Describing an engine that that doesn’t exist. I once couldn’t convince a Jaguar sedan owner that they did not have a V6 in their car, when photos clearly showed the famous straight six, and that model never came as a V6. And The stupid ..covering up the license plate ploy!…. Your license plate is seen by hundreds if not thousands of people EVERY FREAKIN’ DAY! What do you think is going to happen if someone see’s it in a photo??? When you go to the mall, do you put your license plate in the trunk? Do you freak out in traffic when someone behind you can, oh my god! See your license plate? And the ever popular “A/C just needs charged” Fine, go to Wallymart, spend $30, charge it, then sell me the car!!..ahem..OK, I’m better now, now where did I set that vodka on the rocks???

The license plate thing is kind of dumb, particularly if they’re showing the car at their home residence. Further, if they’re not showing the car at their house, hiding the license plate may be due to something nefarious the seller is trying to hide. OTOH, hiding the plate on an older, rare car that’s parked on the street and being shown, say on this very site, might not be such a bad idea, considering how easy to would be to hotwire an old, valuable car. That might be worth the effort for an enterprising car thief. But on some POS listed on Craiglist? Nah.

As to the ‘A/C just needs recharged’, I tend to take that as a bigger issue with the A/C, particularly with an older, pre-1995 car, and it’s only mentioned because anyone looking at a car is going to test the A/C, so they’re trying to get their story straight. A potential problem might be it uses the older R-12 instead of being converted to R-134a. Or, there are leaks and the system won’t hold the refrigerant, whatever type it might be. Regardless, it would be real easy to blow it off as an easy fix just to get a sale, only for the new owner to find that the problem was definitely not easy or cheap to repair.

Part of the problem of bad photos is due to the use of cellphone cameras by idiots who never think to turn them sideways to fit the shape of a CAR.

Obviously, however, the seller of the second, silver car didn’t suffer from this affliction. His problem was not wanting to go outside his tiny garage to take the picture. Or maybe he didn’t want buyers to see what the rear of the car looked like.

Part of the problem of bad photos is due to the use of cellphone cameras by idiots who never think to turn them sideways to fit the shape of a CAR.

I’ve tried so so hard to not look at the masses as dumb sheep, and I’ve come a long way from my peak teenage cynicism that bred that outlook, but smartphone pictures and video have completely changed my mind. The masses are morons, it’s indisputable. Their picture taking skills suck, their taste in music sucks, their cars are stupid, their offspring are irritating, and don’t deserve this amazing technology in their clunky grip.

I peruse CL daily for motorcycles, and I’m amazed how many sellers misspell the make and/or model- Harley, Sportster, and- my favorite- helmet (helment or helmut)! Who buys used helmets, anyway? Or, listed under motorcycles for sale, their header states- Motorcycle for sale.

Make/model misspellings are, alternately, hilarious or facepalm-inducing. I’m amazed how many folks just assume–how many times have they seen the badge on the back of their own car? Really. Camero iis one of the most common, but there are also plenty of Caddilacs, Lincons, Camerys, and the everpresent Volkswagon…

Hardboiled Eggs and Nuts

Posted May 30, 2017 at 4:13 PM

After the U.S. invasion of Grenada, there were lots of Ford Granadas that were advertised as Ford Grenadas.

Tatra87

Posted May 30, 2017 at 8:21 PM

In French, you pronounce “Cadillac” as “Cadee-yak” (it’s a French name, after all). Back in the day, my father had a Pontiac, which we would pronounce “Pont-yak”.

One time, my mother filed his car’s paperwork inside a big envelope. She had unwittingly written “Pontillac” on there. Hilarity ensued.

Roger

Posted May 31, 2017 at 1:33 PM

You’d be shocked that the number of people that walk up to my parts dept that don’t even KNOW what kind of vehicle they drive! They just get huffy and exclaim “It’s a LINCOLN!!! DUH!!!” and look at me like I’m the dumb one…

It just so happens I saved a picture of the $500 Mercedes I attempted to buy from a completely unresponsive seller a few years ago. I found it funny he took the effort to splice two pictures together, yet couldn’t be bothered to dehoard the interior

Wow – Indiana license plate – I wonder if that gold car in the background might be the 71 Dodge Polara sedan I tried to buy several years ago. It was a gorgeous low mile car with a pristine interior and a 360. Until a windstorm blew a trampoline in the yard onto the car, leaving dents in the decklid and a cracked windshield. The guy and I could not agree on how much a theoretical windshield would cost. The car was in a nicer rural area at the time. I hate to sound like a snobby shit, but I usually avoid going to look at cars parked in alleys.

The location it was listed in was South Bend, I think it may have been 2011-2012ish. I remember trying to figure out the cars in that picture at the time haha

With me I just plain couldn’t get hold of him, I called, texted and emailed daily for two weeks, then finally got either a text or email explaining that the car sold to someone local. I think my Illinois area code may have been the dealbreaker. Agreed on the alley, but I wouldn’t have been there alone at least, my friend would have come with me with his trailer.

The car behind the Calais seems to be a Jaguar XJ, though the rear pillar doesn’t look quite right. Yet, when you blow-up the picture it appears to have a Jaguar emblem on the front fender.

Saw an ad on Craigslist today, the picture showed a small portion of the right front fender. No tire/wheelcover, no identifying marks/badges. The description said it was a Lincoln LS, but no mention of the year.

Ah, good call. Definitely an XJ40. I couldn’t make out the emblem, and the chrome arch trim is non-original, but there’s nothing else that window line could be. Since you can’t really see the rear quarter window from this angle in this dim photo, I was racking my brain thinking it was something with a near-vertical C-pillar. The chrome trim around the windows really couldn’t be anything else though, it’s a rather unusual arrangement plus the rounded top corners of the windshield are also not common.

I once saw a craigslist picture in which the seller had whited out everything around the car. Instead of blurring out the license plate like a normal person, he got into MS Paint and painted white over everything that wasn’t the car. That’s a special kind of paranoid. I think it was a ’77 Nova.

I also never understand how you can manage to misspell the name of the car. IT’S PRINTED ON THE CAR. GO LOOK AT IT. People frequently search for a car model and if you misspell LeSabre, YOUR CAR WON’T APPEAR.

I do see some terrible CL pictures. This particular one should be called the Blanche DuBois, the seller has used strategically dim lighting and an odd angle to hide what must be horrendous defects. There’s no possible way you can think, what a great picture, someone is going to want to buy my car based on this.

My other faves are the blurry, crooked shots of half a car, like this. I’m wondering if the cats which run the internet are responsible for these pictures and they’re some sort of trap. The cats take the pictures and think, we will lure this human to . . . do something. They just haven’t figured it out yet.

My other craigslist faves are the ones where the car pictures are ok but the background is clearly sketchy. The background littered with car parts, houses with large chunks of siding missing, chain link fences and gravel lots with angry dogs lurking in the background, . . . I know I am not Ansel Adams but really, your goal is to make people WANT to buy the car. Photograph it in front of a nice brick building and some trees or whatever passes for scenic in your area. If you live in New Jersey, you may be hard pressed though.

in RE: New Jersey. Had a negative view well, then lived there from79-84. Granted northeast corridor Newark, NYC and the southern equivalent Camden, Philadelphia is pretty rough in places. But state actually has mountains! and forests, and believe it or not some clean rivers and streams Not to mention some really great seashore, and seafood, and lets not forget the best tomatos I have ever eaten! Yeah, I know, was shocked too!

Selling my l200, its a nice car interior is ok just the driver seat is pretty messed up. Missing one hub cap. needs one new engine mount. Needs a bit of break fluid and your good. it’s a good car from A to B. the key and ignition is hit and miss, probably needs ignition work. engine and transmission are prefect. no speakers in the front, was planning on replacing it never got to it. clear coat is peeling. Solid car. price is firm. text is preferred. text me for more photos of the car, i’ll upload some more just have shitty signal .

Craigslist isn’t what it used to be. Last week I posted something on there and on Facebook Marketplace. Same ad with same pictures. Within hours I had 3 people wanting to look at it from Facebook and not a single inquiry from the Craigslist ad I forgot about after 4 days.

Response from the seller: The car is in good shape and have all maintenance done. My husband passed away recently and i am living with friends. Amazon is handling the sale so if you would kindly give them: name adress social security # and they will arange shipment to you upon payment. You will have 5 days to inspect the car and return it if not to your liking.

Last time I advertised a car on CL, I got a few of the standard “It’s exactly what I’m looking for, I’ll buy it for your asking price, I’m in the Navy currently at sea” (blah blah blah money transfer blah blah agent to pick up the car blah blah gimme your bank account number, etc). I wrote back to one of them and said “I’m just curious: does this ever work for you?”

My daughter is looking for a car with a manual transmission. I’ve been helping her with the search using CL’s search filters which indeed let you look for cars listed as having manuals. Doing so yielded a true unicorn, a stick shift Lincoln Navigator.

Good idea … I’ll try that 🙂 However I’m just using the filter that looks at how the seller filled out the CL checklist for vehicle features. Many SUV and truck sellers don’t clarify if their vehicle is 2wd or 4wd/AWD. Or they say it’s FWD … that’s four wheel drive, right?

This of course compelled me to go straight to Craigslist and see what sort of poor ads I could find.

This one for a Maxima stood out… first of all, why would anyone take pictures of their car at night, even if they’re trying to show off the blue interior light? But my favorite part of this ad is the description that lists the car as having “some buddy damage.” I bet it is…

This one showed up on my second hit. First picture is artistic :). Second picture shows 80% of the car. Third picture – WTF? And “doors open from inside only”. So how do you get in? I guess through the hatch …https://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/6155193569.html

My favourite is looking at an ad where the lead picture is dated more than a year ago (I found one in recent months that was taken at a car show in 1998), and the other pictures show a car that’s been through the ringer since. That, or they have a truck covered in mud to show how “tough” and “offroad ready” it is. Something that personally annoys me is the overuse of asterisks and exclamation marks. Like your 1994 Chevrolet Astro with the rusted away fenders requires such prose. By far one of the most confusing I’ve ever seen that’s not done by bots is where the car is completely mislabeled. So you’re selling a 1986 Cadillac DTS wagon with the V8 and a three speed automatic transmission with a recently replaced clutch housing?

The best version of that is when the lead photo is from when they bought the car and before they tore it all apart, sanded the paint of the entire car and then let it sit outside ect. Then of course they tell you they have “all the parts” and it “just needs reassembly”.

Here is one. Listed as a 65 Ford, at least they tell you who made it and what year but no model information. Here is what the ad said. “posting for a friend he will fill u in and pics
its a solid project most metal work done all parts to finish text or phone only”

I vaguely recognized the first picture as a compact Olds. The second picture looks like it may have been intentional. There are a lot of people in Los Angeles who buy impound cars at auction and resell them as-is and they ALWAYS manage to shoot the car in photos so that the lack of license plates is not visible. The yellow writing on the windshield is a dead giveaway.

A few of my favorite cliches in CL ads:
“overheats but easy fix” on cars prone to HG problems
“V6 it’s a Honda so you know it’s good on gas” on 3.2L Acura Legends
“Turing model”
“I’m not a mechanic so don’t ask me what’s wrong”

Ah, but you fail to appreciate the sheer artistry of the first photo. Note the skillful use of the Chiaroscura-like interplay between the shadows and light. Certainly the bright light through the window symbolizes the dawn of a new ownership experience. Surely the dark, shapeless forms beneath it represent the cloak of despair that was the Malaise Era. Finally, the blurred license plate signifies the unimportance of individuality in a world of identity politics and groupthink. All in all, a masterpiece.

Indeed. Also note the subtle way the Oldsmobile is overshadowing the classic Jaguar, signifying America’s ascendance over the fading British Empire. Clearly this picture is operating on many different yet beautifully integrated levels and genres.

LOVE IT! Had a former cousin by marriage who went to THE NEW SCHOOL in NYC circa late1970’s, studied photography. Took black and white (only) “photographs” , god forbid you should call them “pictures”..how gauche! She took “photographs” of wooden doors with peeling paint, cracks in dirty Sidewalks in New York, crap like that and called them”ART” As in “don’t you see the subtle lines and shadows, and the symmetry and subtle symbiosis of the lines and…bah..blah..blah?” No, See someone who conned their parents into spending a fortune sending you to this “ART” school and getting a worthless B.F.A. She ended up waiting tables.

When car shopping sloppy pics, misspelled words tell me to pass on the ads. The way way an ad is written also tips me off whether some pimple faced kid is trying to sell what he’s ruined or a more mature, literate person who is selling a worthwhile automotive investment.

Usually I fix up and re-balance aged photos for those who post them here…but here’s the Craigslist pic. Oldsmobile it is!

This might help with the car behind it too, but it may have nothing to do with the one for sale. They look like they’re parked in front of a motel room!

With the license plate blanked, the evidence is that whoever put this on Craigslist has at least a modicum of photographic and digital editing skills, so it may all be some kind of ruse after all. Not that anybody would actually want to see, haggle over, or buy this car, but as PT Barnum allegedly (but probably falsely) is credited with saying about minutes, birth and suckers…